Pollution Prevention - Urban Watersheds: Geology, Contamination, and Sustainable Development - page 438

planning process, and the results should be published and open for critical review by
scientists, professionals, and the public. Other components of this process include (1) max-
imizing resource efficiency, (2) implementing existing and developing technical innova-
tions, (3) minimizing the use of toxic chemicals, and (4) education (USEPA 2009).
This chapter begins with a quick assessment of the recent pollution prevention efforts in
the United States. Next, a framework developed by the authors for preventing pollution at
industrial point sources is presented. Since point and nonpoint sources are characterized
by common transport media and transport processes, portions of this framework are then
applied to the source reduction efforts for the nonpoint pollution variants of stormwater
and erosion.
13.2 Pollution Prevention in the United States
The institutional framework for pollution prevention in the United States is embodied
in the Pollution Prevention Results Task Force (PPRTF) formed in 2003. Membership
in the Task Force is comprised of representatives from state and local programs, EPA
Headquarters and Regional Offices, pollution prevention Resource Exchange Centers, and
the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable. The Task Force was created with the objec-
tive of developing a National Pollution Prevention Results Data System designed to gather
and aggregate data from the state and local programs (USEPA 2009).
The third and most recent report issued by the PPRTF in 2009 indicates that there were
substantial reductions of material waste, airborne pollution, and water pollution between
2004 and 2006. A total of 3,492,661,249 kg (7.7 billion lb) of pollution was prevented from
entering the environment. Of this total, 2,267,961,850 kg (5 billion lb) came from reduc-
ing materials and waste, 90,718,474 kg (2 billion lb) from reducing air emissions, and
27,215,542 kg (60 million lb) from reducing water pollution. The total cost savings of these
pollution prevention efforts are estimated to be $6.4 billion (USEPA 2009). Although idio-
syncrasies of the data prevent the ability to ascertain trends, the quantities represented
indicate there is significant effort underway in pollution prevention. Perhaps the best indi-
cator of this effort is the steady rise in the number of facilities participating in pollution
prevention planning: 1100 in 2004; 1900 in 2005; and 2600 in 2006.
These numbers alone, however, do not tell the complete story of pollution prevention—
there are additional quantitative and qualitative considerations. From a quantitative per-
spective, the quantities of pollution reduction must be weighed against the quantities of
pollution produced. If the annual rates of reduction are consistently surpassing the annual
rates of pollution released into the environment, then improvements may be indicated.
Progress, however, depends not only on consistent quantitative reductions but also on
the qualitative nature of the pollution released, including the types, toxicity, persistence,
and mobility of contaminants released, and an accounting of the impacts on the geologic,
ecologic, hydrologic, and atmospheric environments where these contaminants enter. A
full characterization of progress, therefore, would need to document the changing status
of ecosystems, receiving water quality (surface water and groundwater), soil conditions,
and air pollution levels realized through pollution prevention efforts. Moreover, due to
the human pathways present with many contaminant releases, there would need to be
evidence of fewer emergency hospital visits and a trend toward less chronic occupational-
related diseases, such as the skin and lung problems associated with the use of chromium.